Businesses often rely on data that is stored using computer technology. For example, computers often store data in databases, which are sets of files that can store digital data. Database administrators manage databases to ensure that data is correctly added, deleted or modified. The time and effort required to administer a database depends on its size. Database size may also affect the performance of retrieving data from a database. Freeing the database of “old” data may reduce the administrative burden and improve the performance of the database. “Old data” may include data that has been stored or has not been used for a specified period of time. Old data may also include data belonging to closed business transactions that is no longer needed for day-to-day operations.
Simply deleting such data from the database is often not feasible since it may still be needed due to legal or business requirements. Instead this data may be “archived” by copying it to archive files and then deleting it from the database. Archiving allows the database to remain manageable and the archived data can still be accessed if the need arises. Additionally, archiving allows for faster backup and recovery and more efficient use of resources.
For businesses that store large amounts of data, archiving can be a lengthy process. Since businesses want to use their computing systems for day-to-day business transactions, it is desirable to run archiving processes as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, archiving programs must process many data elements to identify old data that requires archiving. A two-step process may be used that involves first archiving data by performing some preprocessing and then deleting data from the database after performing the full checks required. Since a primary benefit of archiving is to relieve databases of old data, this two-step process may still require significant time for archiving.